Federico Balzaretti

Federico Balzaretti

• A native of Turin, he came up through the Torino FC youth system but spent the early years of his senior career on loan − with AS Varese 1910 in Serie C1 and AC Siena in Serie B.

• Made his Serie A debut for Torino in a 1-0 defeat by FC Internazionale Milano on 14 September 2002 but featured only occasionally as the Granata suffered relegation; by contrast he made 81 Serie B appearances over the next two campaigns before moving to Juventus.

• A fringe member of the Bianconeri side that won Serie A in 2005/06 but had the title stripped; much more prominent as Juventus returned to the top flight at the first attempt in 2006/07 but left for ACF Fiorentina after the club's promotion.

• Failed to make the grade under Prandelli's tutelage in Florence and left after just half a season for Palermo, where he finally found his feet at the top level, establishing himself immediately as the Sicilian club's regular left-back.

• Helped Palermo to three successive top-ten finishes from 2008/09-2010/11 and also into the final of the 2011 Coppa Italia, where they lost 3-1 to FC Internazionale Milano.

• Made his international debut in a friendly against Romania on 17 November 2010 and started four matches in UEFA EURO 2012 qualification, without conceding a goal; made four appearances in Poland and Ukraine as Italy finished as runners-up to Spain.

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